Living in the Present

As I wrote about yesterday, I studied a talk called “Go Forth in Faith” where the speaker shares four principles that helped Nephi in his travels from his home to the Promised Land.

They are:

1. Obey the commandments
2. Move forward in faith
3. Live in the present
4. Draw on the strength of others

Yesterday I studied about moving forward in faith. Today I want to study about living in the present.

I Googled “one day at a time” and found an article from AA about the concept. Here’s one quote I found that I liked:

Anyone can fight the battles of just one day. It is only when you and I add the battles of those two awful eternities, yesterday and tomorrow, that we break down. It is not the experience of today that drives us mad. It is the remorse or bitterness for something that happened yesterday or the dread of what tomorrow may bring. Let us therefore do our best to live but one day at a time.

I like this one too – about sponsorship:

…every time we help another alcoholic, we’re making a large payment on our drink insurance. We’re making sure that our policy doesn’t lapse.

I’ve felt this. Helping others helps solidify and remind me of where I’ve been without having to relive my mistakes over and over again. I feel that thoughts and impressions come to me as I’m talking with my sponsees. I want what’s best for them; I want to share what I’ve learned about true recovery.

Yesterday I started working with Tyler, a guy I met at the recovery meeting in Riverton on Monday. He seems to be in a pretty tough spot, has struggled to get started on the steps, and is afraid if he tells his wife about where he is today, she’ll leave him and/or divorce him.

We talked about the importance of being 100% honest. It reminds me of the quote about being 99% in and having it be hell or 100% in and it’s a breeze. The quote went something like this:

A 99% decision is a beast.

A 100% decision is a breeze.

Getting to the 100% decision to be in recovery takes time and effort, but it’s possible. Once we learn the process of surrendering, we are ready to make that 100% commitment.

I shared with Tyler a few key points in my recovery thus far:

1. Read Beware of Pride talk
2. Commit 100% to the ARP Support Program – all the items on the overview are essential or I can’t work with you
3. Lust is a crucial element to work on – practicing the “chin up” approach to looking at all people is so helpful
4. Having a prayer in my heart all the time, especially when I’m aware of tempting surroundings, has to be a priority

I’m hopeful for Tyler and want to be there for him in his recovery one day at a time.

Here’s one more quote about living in the present one day at a time:

Live one day at a time, let go of the past, don’t beat yourself up over what you did yesterday, and adopt a positive outlook on the future.

Living one day at a time is all I can do. Living in the present is the only way I can live as a recovering addict.

I researched “one day at a time” at LDS.org too and found some articles.

• An Eternal Marriage – One Day at a Time
• Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread
• Old Testament Study: Exodus 16:1-17:7

Unfortunately, I’m out of time right now to study each of them but plan to study them more tomorrow.

I look forward to the upcoming study.

Hasta luego!

Nate